Analysis Techniques For Man-Machine Systems Design

NATO UNCLASSIFTEDAC/243(Panel 8)TR/7 - 5Volume 23.3 REVIEW OF POTENTIAL OPERATOR CAPABILITIESWhat the technique doesThe review of potential operator capabilities documents those abilities of expected system or equipment users interms which are relevant to the operation of the system. STANAG 3994 Al (NATO MAS, 1991) requires that "thepotential capabilities of human system components shall be reviewed based on the function analysis and on a reviewof operator tasks in similar systems. Emphasis shall be place on those capabilities which are unique to humans, suchas signal detection in noise, adaptive decision making, etc. The results shall be expressed in quantitative termswherever possible, for example in terms of time, accuracy, or amount of information that can be handled, and shall bereflected in the system and equipment detail design." US MIL-H-46855B requires estimates of potentialoperator/maintainer processing capabilities.Inputs to the techniqueOutputs of the techniqueThe analyst requires information on the expected operator There is no standard form of output for this technique. Itand maintainer population, and on their potential roles. should produce a review of the material on human operatorduties, and functions. The analyst also requires detailed performance cross-referenced or related to the potentialinformation on operator capabilities to perform those operator functions. Useful formats have included a reviewfunctions, or similar ones.of operator workload and capabilities related to a missiondescription, and generic statements about operator abilityto perform specific functions.When to useThe technique should be used after a functional decomposition as an input to the allocation of functions.Related techniquesThe review of potential operator capabilities is closely related to other function-allocation techniques, particularlyextensions of the Fitts' lisL It parallels the systems engineering activity of requirements analysis.-Resources requiredThe analyst requires information on the functions typically performed by operators, and general details of theperformance of specific functions or tasks in existing systems. The information should concentrate on those taskswhich are done very well, and those with which the operator has difficulty.N ATOUNCLA S S IFIED-54-